Safe and Sound
by cirquegirl81
Summary: A month since the incident with the demon in the cave, things have gone back to "normal" in the office. Before she knows it, she and Naru are kidnapped and taken to an arms dealer working for the global black market. Her items up for sale: the renowned scientist Oliver Davis and his psychic girlfriend. Mai has 2 weeks to learn how to channel Naru's PK to use as a weapon, or die.
1. Cost of the Crown

**AN: See bottom of the story for notes now.**

 **Day 1: 12:07 PM**

 **Mai**

It had been a month since Naru had been released from the hospital. Things started to go back to normal at Shibuya Psychic Research. Well, as normal as things could go and to be expected for a group of professional supernatural investigators. Normally Mai would be happy, if not tired, to be at work helping out the dynamic duo of Lin and the ever narcissistic Kazuya Shibuya or as Mai calls him Naru. However, since the incident with the demon in the cave on their last case, an uncomfortable silence filled the office air. A few clients have come in for Naru to listen to their supernatural issues; all rejected by him. When asked why, Naru didn't seem to give a good answer, or ignored it, or changed the subject. The most that she could get out of him was when they had turned down a blond man in his late 20's asking about a ghost girl that supposedly had been creating mischief in his house. When asked why he turned them down he answered, "There was just something very unsettling about that man,"

She thinks back to the cave incident often. How close she was to losing Naru to that demon. How he had given everything he had, all because Mai challenged him. It must have truly struck a nerve to make him nearly give his life for that. If she'd known that her actions would lead Naru to become so reckless, she wouldn't have said anything. The guilt that she has felt ever since has been insurmountable.

Weirdly enough, Naru seemed to go back to normal almost instantaneously! _That_ is what had her confused, concerned, and irritated. Nearly died one day, in hospital for the next few days, and then poof, back to the computers and her tea. Honestly she would take on any case at this point, because she was starting to go stir crazy! Speaking of that tea loving narcissist, it should be just about time for him to-

"Mai!" she heard him call from the office.

Speak of the devil. "Coming!" she replied getting up and making her way over to his office door.

Naru was sitting behind his desk, staring down at the paperwork in front of him. His disheveled hair hanging over his eyes. He looked to be so in focus with what he was reading, he didn't even seem to acknowledge Mai coming in.

"Tea. And something for lunch for the three of us. There should be some soup in the cupboard that Lin brought in this morning," he said flatly.

"Alright," she replied. She was about to leave when she turned and asked, "Hey, how are you feeling by the way?"

"I'd be doing better once I have some tea."

"Fine, fine! I get the message."

Mai made her way over to the kitchenette and started up the kettle. She rummaged through the cupboards until she found what she was looking for: a couple of cans of vegetable and rice soup. She grabbed a pot and put it beside the kettle. Before long she had the kettle and the soup heating up. As she was grabbing bowls and mugs she let her thoughts take over.

'I'll be better when I have some tea. Like tea will somehow make things better, make the atmosphere around here a little lighter. I can't believe that out of all people to fall in love with, I had to fall in love with _him_!' she thought despondently.

She wasn't entirely sure when it had happened. It certainly wasn't when they first met. She had seen through his facade almost immediately. Mai thinks it must have just happened through all of the shared experiences they've had together. The times that she stood up to him on his ideas, and the way he would still save her from peril after peril. Then there were the dreams he would guide her through. That smile was beautiful, filled with life. Mai vowed to get Naru to smile like that in the waking world.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't even realize that the office door opened and a voice called out. "Excuse me? Is anyone here?"

Mai jumped.. "Ah-! Hello one second!" she called double checking on the kettle and soup once more before moving out and into the main area, "Welcome to Shibuya Psychic Re-" she paused noticing that there wasn't just one man in the doorway, but five coming in and closing the door behind them, "search..." she concluded.

"Why thank you little miss. I think we'll make ourselves at home," he said with a sly grin.

Mai didn't even have time to object before the men behind him were moving out to investigate the office. Some of them picking up objects and investigating them, others looking at the diplomas on the walls.

"Erm, do you all have an appointment with Mr. Shibuya?" she asked tentatively.

A couple of the men snickered, a man glared at her. As she looked closely she recognized the blond man who glared at her as a man that was a potential client a couple weeks ago. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, the raven haired middle aged man who spoke to her initially grabbed her chin with his hand. He turned her face toward his and leaned in close.

"No we don't, but you're going to get him for us anyways. Alright sweetie?" he sneered.

The man then grabbed Mai's shoulders, turned her around, and gave her a pat on the shoulders. As she made one step forward, the man slapped her hard on the ass. She jumped and whipped around quickly to glare at the man. Reddening in the face from embarrassment and anger as she saw him smile and the other men laughed.

Mai made her way over to Naru's office, a quickened glide in her step. She didn't even stop to knock on the door as she opened it in a hurry. "Naru," she said obviously upset.

Naru looked up from his paperwork. "Mai what is going on out there?" he asked.

"I-I think you should come out and see..." she said apprehensively.

Naru stood up from his desk and made his way over to the door. Mai turned sideways to let him pass, but Naru stopped beside her. She looked shaken and upset, he could easily see that. He raised a hand up to her shoulder and lightly squeezed. She blushed and he gave her a smirk; something to try and convey confidence. Naru stepped out into the open area.

Lin was already out in the area and looked up towards the two. All of the men were standing up looking at Lin, but followed his gaze when Mai and Naru returned. Lin was squared up towards the men, and Mai felt the need to get closer to Naru.

"Ahh!" said a shorter man near the corner of the room. He had a higher pitched nasally voice, graying hair, and a scarred face. "Little miss stick returns!"

"Stick?!" Mai asked defiantly, now even more red in the face. She tried to charge forward but Naru held out his arm to hold her back.

"I am Kazuya Shibuya, and unless you have any actual business being here, I'm going to have to ask you to leave or I'll call the police for trespassing," Naru said.

"Sorry to say Noll I'm already ahead of you on that," Lin said coldly. "This man," he pointed to the raven haired man, "assaulted Mai twice in less than a _minute_ of them being here. I've already taken the liberty of calling the police."

The raven haired male sighed and looked at Lin, "You shouldn't have done that you know." The man pulled out a handgun. "You're _only_ going to make things more difficult."

Mai gasped and gripped onto the back of Naru's shirt. Naru move to protect Mai, and Lin moved to protect Naru. "What do you people want?" Naru challenged.

The other men snickered and stood at the ready. The man with the gun pointed the gun at Lin, "We want you," he pointed it to Naru, "and you to come with us. Now. The police can deal with that bitch's body when they get here!"

A loud whistle erupted in the room and Lin's shiki's materialized in a brilliant flash of white. Two of the men became occupied with them, the blond man tried to back away, another man who seemed to be the tallest and strongest of the group ran to the front door. While this was happening, the raven haired man was pushed back in a bull rush from Lin. A shot rang out. Lin fell to the ground with a heavy thump.

"LIN!" Mai screamed breaking away from behind Naru. She tried to charge towards Lin but her arm was grabbed by Naru.

"Mai go! Get out of here!" he spun and threw her towards the front door.

Mai stumbled but managed to regain her balance. The large man who blocked the door stood at the ready. She didn't have time to react when he clothes lined her, knocking her down to the ground by the entrance to the kitchenette. The room started spinning, and she could hear faintly Naru screaming out her name. She crawled into the kitchenette. She grabbed a hold of the stove top to pull herself to her knees.

"It's nothing personal girl. It's just, well, can't leave any loose ends you know?" the familiar male voice said behind her.

"You're not going to take him!" she said defiantly and grabbed the soup pot handle. She flung its contents behind her and towards the man.

Screams of anguish and pain erupted out of the man, who Mai saw had the gun initially pointed at her. She had just soaked his entire right hand, arm, and parts of his face with boiling vegetable soup. The man fell to his knee clutching his hand and arm.

"You fuckin' bitch!" he yelled.

Mai tried to run. Stepping over him, around the corner and-! _**Punch!**_ Mai fell to the ground as a large fist collided with her face. Another punch. 'I have to help...' Mai thought before another punch to her face made her start to black out.

"Moku! You useless shit, grab the girl!" she faintly heard the leader of the group yell, "Damn, she's gonna be pissed."

'I'm already pissed...' was the last thing she thought before she blacked out completely.

-o-

 **AN: I am back everyone with a brand new story! If you've been wondering where I've been, please check my profile for a nice comprehensive list of my activities since I last updated 5 years ago.**

 **Reviews are welcome and appreciated! I don't have a schedule of uploading, since I have an 8 month old daughter now. Quality versus quantity is best. See you all soon!**


	2. The Sound of Silence

**AN: I thought I should mention I am titling the chapters based on the songs I listen to while writing that I think best fit the chapter. Chapter 1: Cost of the Crown – Nightcore Cost of the Crown by NightcoreGalaxy.**

 **Chapter 2: The Sound of Silence -Disturbed**

 **AN: See the end of the chapter for more notes.**

-o-

 **Day 1: 14:53**

 **Naru**

When Naru woke up, he realized a few things right away: he was cold, _really_ cold, it was dark, and something heavy was wrapped around his wrists. His head was splitting in pain as well. After a minute of groaning trying to get his eyes to focus, he was able to look around to get his bearings. He was on a large bed, the only one in the room. He noticed a couple large cabinets near a side door. Looking through it, he noticed a bathroom. Hardly anything in it except a toilet and a sink. A large wooden door barricaded the bathroom for the room he was currently in. He looked down at his wrists and noticed they were bound with confining iron shackles.

There was another door, leading presumably to another area of a building. If he was even in a building he wasn't sure. It was big, heavy looking and made of iron. Looking down from that and adjusting his sight, he noticed someone else in the room with him. Mai was lying curled up in the center of the cement floor curled up in on herself, her back facing him.

"Mai," he groaned as he tried to get off the bed without the room spinning out of control. He felt nauseous. He all but collapsed by her side. His hands clanked as he reached out his hands. His left hand going to the back of her head, and the right going to her right shoulder. He rolled her onto her back and she groaned.

Anger pulsed through him faster than he thought possible. Mai's normally beautiful, smiling face was now showing evidence of a fight. A large welt was forming on her left cheek. A ½ inch gash was bleeding in the center of the welt. Also her right eye was swelling with a purple bruise forming under it. He tried to gently caress her face with his right hand but drew back when she whimpered in pain.

'Whoever did this is going to die,' Naru thought.

At this point his feeling for Mai had gone even beyond friendship. He had been lingering on this feeling for quite some time, but he had never been too fond of exploring his emotions about the girl. She truly had changed him for the better. The way she would get flustered when he teased her, the way she would stand up to him, unafraid to speak her mind. She reminded him of his own humanity again. Ever since his brother died, and he had lost the connected link he had with him, he had felt so incredibly empty and alone inside. Mai had filled that with warmth and a need to keep going. To do better. For her.

Now she's lying here on the damn floor of wherever the hell they are. Chained up in a cold empty room converted into a cell. Mai's face beaten and for what purpose Naru isn't sure. Naru was sure of one thing though, someone was going to die.

"Mai. Mai wake up," he whispered as calmly as he could manage.

Mai's face scrunched in pain, but slowly she opened her eyes. "Naru...?" she groaned, "Where are we?" She looked around for a moment, and suddenly her eyes widened in worry. "Lin!" she cried and jolted upright. The pain was instantaneous and she hissed and then whimpered in pain as she held her head. It was then that she noticed she was cuffed.

"Idiot," Naru murmured. He tried told hold her face in his hands to get a better idea of the injuries. "Lin will be fine," he tried to sound confident, but even he wasn't so sure, "but what happened to you? If you were beaten into unconsciousness you could have a concussion."

Mai lowered her hands down and looked at the cuffs. "The man that shot Lin...tried to shoot me as I ran away. I threw boiling soup at him. Another large man kept punching me until the other guy told him to take me too," Mai explained tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

Naru smirked at the idea of Mai doing that to someone. "Smart move on my part to have soup today huh?"

"Are you trying to take the credit?" Mai challenged, "I was the-"

She stopped as they heard the sound of a tumbler being unlocked on the heavy iron door. Naru threw his restrained arms over Mai's head and pulled her close to his chest. Naru said nothing, even when he could feel Mai start to blush. His heart skipped a beat when he felt Mai's hands come up to his and hold them closer to her chest.

The door creaked open and in walked the blond man who had been their "potential client." The middle aged muscular man looked at the two, scowled and stepped to the side. Behind him was the raven haired supposed leader who had shot Lin. He now had his right hand and arm bandaged, and a sling over his shoulder. He had a gauze on his face as well, to which Naru quietly chuckled. He came in and stepped to the other side of the door opposite of the blond man. Shortly after he stepped in a woman stepped in. She was much smaller than the two men on the sides of her that she honestly looked out of place. She had a petite body, brown hair pulled back into a french braid, wearing a black spaghetti strap t-shirt, dark blue jeans, and black flat heeled boots. The tight clothes on her revealed muscles on her that made her look like a fitness model.

She eyed the two; her face went from stoic, to confusion, to beyond pissed off. " _Akio_! Get your ass over here! _Now_!" she yelled.

Footsteps thudded, a third man came in. A much older wrinkled faced man in a three piece suit. He did not look amused by this, "You called, Alaina?"

'Alaina? She's definitely not from Japan,' Naru thought.

"I did...I thought you said the team you sent was the best in your division? Ones who could get the job done?" she asked.

"They are Alaina," Akio replied impassively,"and they did."

"No..." she said with a little mockery in her voice while walking towards the two. Naru held onto Mai tighter. She smirked, "Satoshi? Who were the two people you were supposed to bring me?" she asked.

The raven haired man who apparently was Satoshi stood up a bit taller, "Ma'am you asked us to bring you Oliver Davis and his omnyoji bodyguard Koujo Lin," he said.

Naru's eyes widened. 'No, there's _no_ way they could've found out,' he thought.

The woman walked up to Satoshi with a glide in her step that just exudes confidence and leadership. "Does that bitch over there even _look_ like a 27 year old Chinese omnyoji to ya?"she asked with such calmness that the atmosphere felt heavy with the silence that followed. "Or does that look like a fuckin' 16 year old, Japanese schoolgirl?"

"Ma'am that fuckin' bitch burned me! I wanted to teach that cunt over there _exactly_ who she was messin' with," he snarled at Mai. He looked like he wanted to charge at Mai holding nothing back.

"And who exactly did she fuck with? You are nothing. Satoshi, you should be less concerned about your arm, and more concerned about what I'm going to be doin' wit'cha." she said, her accent starting to become more evident in her speech that she is not from here.

Naru felt something wet hit his hands. Glancing at Mai's face who was transfixed on the scene in front of her, he noticed silent tears pouring down from her eyes and onto his hands. Almost as if she didn't even realize she was crying. He pulled her closer to himself and leaned in next to her ear.

"It's going to be ok Mai, we're going to get out of here," he whispered reassuringly.

Mai couldn't help but take in a deep shuddering breath that she didn't know she needed. He gripped her tighter and hoped they wouldn't turn on them again. Thankfully they didn't seem to notice.

"So tell me, what happened to the omnyoji?" Alaina asked rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"He was shot ma'am." the blond man had said, "He informed them that the police were called, and Satoshi pulled his gun. He charged at him, and his gun discharged."

"Did he now...and you made sure that he was dead before you decided to bring this girl here right?" she asked Satoshi.

"He-" Satoshi stuttered, "h-he was shot-"

"With the police inbound you dumb sack of shit!" the woman screamed, "Our best chance at using Oliver Davis and ya had _one_ job! Bring me him and the omnyoji. Ya couldn't even do that! Ya were beaten by a fuckin' 16! Year old! _Girl_!" With every final word she screamed, she stepped towards Mai, getting in her face.

Mai shrank into Naru's chest, twisting to try and bury her face into his shoulder. Naru glared at the woman with a looked that dared her to try and take another step forward. Objects in the rooms started to shake as he started to lose control. 'Fuck! Be calm, be calm, be calm...' he thought to himself. This is the second time he would lose his cool because of this girl. He really _did_ love her.

Alaina stepped back and sighed, "That's three failures you have given me Satoshi, and I am very disappointed. Ya promised me a human duo weapon, and ya brought me half of one. A good half mind you, but this half will die the second he uses it to its full potential. Not really good for a showing."

Alaina made her way back to the door where Akio still stood looking rather unamused. She held out a hand, and he reached behind and pulled something out. It was another handgun and a clip. She loaded the clip in, pressed the bolt release and turned the weapon off of 'safe'.

"I am getting to be pretty pissed off right now. So tell me Oliver, does your girlfriend here have _any_ psychic powers of note? Or did you just hire her for eye candy?" Alaina asked.

Naru glared and shifted Mai to his side, "Are you seriously implying what I think you are?" he asked.

"You're the genius, you figure it out."

Naru paused and looked down at Mai. The poor girl was shaking in fear, tears had soaked his shirt, and here they were one wrong answer away from certain death. A death without meaning, almost as bad as his parent's death. He knew what they wanted from him, from both of them. It might kill them both, but at least they would die trying to get out. Not being used the way this woman wants to use us.

"She's a latent psychic with growing powers into astral projection. With her training still ongoing, I believe she is well on her way to becoming an expert medium" he answered honestly. Mai looked up at him with wide, questioning eyes.

Alaina looked genuinely surprised, "Really? That is most interesting. Did ya hear that Satoshi? A potential medium. Ya may _not_ have fucked this mission ten ways til Sunday!" she said smiling and walking towards him.

He smiled halfheartedly, "See? Something good came out of this! So you don't have to kill me ma'am."

She looked confused , "Why would I not do that? You're just not going to die painfully."

With that, she put the gun under his chin and without a moments hesitation, she pulled the trigger. The echo off the walls still reverberated in Naru's ears even after the man had fallen to the ground. His head bleeding out and he slumped looking empty eyed at Naru and Mai. Mai tried to shift to look at what had happened but Naru pressed her head and face back into his shoulder.

"Don't look Mai, for god's sake, don't look," he pleaded.

Alaina looked a little less stressed, "Ahh that is a bit better. Akio, have someone come in and clean up the mess, will ya?" She walked up to Naru and Mai, "I'm getting tired of speaking Japanese," she said switching over to English. She had a very thick Irish accent Naru had noted. "I know you can understand me Oliver Davis, so listen carefully. Ya said that with enough time and practice, ya little girlfriend here would become a successful medium. Consider this basic training. Ya two have about two weeks, 15 days to be precise. She will learn how to channel your PK and use it effectively without major injury or death. Do ya understand?"

"Why? Why even do this? What do hope to gain from this?" Naru asked.

"What I hope to gain is a fuck ton of money. Your name is worth a lot in this world, and your powers, well that's worth triple in the market I work in. I have a lot of interested buyers, and I promised them you and your PK buffer. Ya have the rest of today and tonight to bring her up to speed on how to channel your PK. Training starts tomorrow," she explained with an oddly calm tone for one who just killed a man in cold blood.

"If I use Mai as a buffer she could die!" Naru protested angrily.

She leaned in closer, "Well then, for her sake, I hope you are a good teacher."

With that, she got up and walked towards the blond man, "Katsuo," she went back to Japanese, "undo their bindings and get these two an MRE each and something to drink. They're gonna be needing there strength."

The woman and two men left, and soon a third man came to get the body of Satoshi and haul him away. The man came back to unlock Naru's and Mai's cuffs, then threw in a couple towels over the pool of blood and soon closed the heavy iron door. The last thing Mai and Naru heard before the silence overcame them both was the sound of a lock tumbler locking them in the room.

 **AN: I think that posting on a weekly basis should be good for me. It gives me a timeline for completion and I can easily work around my drill schedule. I have drills on certain weekends, and often it is Friday-Sunday. For obvious reasons I won't be telling you all what weekends I have drill on, but you all can look forward to a chapter a week.**

 **Thanks for reading! Don't forget to comment, I love reading and replying.**


	3. Tears of an Angel

**Chapter 3: Tears of an Angel**

 **Tears of an Angel Nightcore version by Sinon**

 **AN: See bottom of chapter for further notes. Please review!**

 **Day 1: 15:10**

 **Naru**

The door slammed shut with a loud and deafening bang, and for a minute neither one moved. Neither Naru nor Mai said anything. They just stayed where they were. Naru staring at the door as if challenging anyone who might come in to harass them or hurt them. It was almost uncomfortably silent. Which is why Naru jumped slightly when he heard Mai's almost distant and frail voice whisper to him.

"You have to pretend..."

"Hmm?" he replied still not letting her go.

"You have to pretend to be Oliver Davis," she whispered.

A pang in his heart hit him hard. She still believed in him. Believed that he wouldn't keep something this big a secret from her. Damn.

"Mai-"

"I mean, she made a mistake right? But you saw what she does to people who make mistakes. If she thinks that you and I are worth something, she'll keep us alive longer," she said urgently. She looked up to his face with worry in her eyes. This was too painful.

"Mai please-" he tried to interrupt her ramblings, but she didn't hear.

"I know that it's not right to impersonate someone as famous as him, but maybe we can use this to buy time for the others to-"

"Mai!" Naru said louder and harsher than he intended. She flinched and his chest twisted. She looked up to him, holding back her tears waiting to hear his answer. "Come on. Let's get off the floor," he sighed looking away. He couldn't bear to look into her eyes when he told her the truth.

"Oh, ok." she said sitting up a little.

He helped her adjust to get up and off of him. He stood up and held out his hand to her to help her up. He chuckled softly when he saw a blush forming on her face. He guided her over to the large queen sized bed and sat her down on the edge. He sat down next to her not knowing exactly what to say. His mouth spoke before his brain could tell him to stop.

"Mai, she didn't make a mistake, and she wasn't lying. I don't have to pretend to be Oliver Davis. I _am_ Oliver Davis," he said looking at his hands in his lap.

He wasn't sure what she would say or do. He wanted her to yell at him, scold him, laugh at how stupid he was. Something remotely Mai-like. But she didn't say or do anything. The silence that followed just twisted the knife that was stabbed into his heart. If he had _any_ hope in having anything relationship wise with her, this was sure to shatter it.

"Why?" she asked finally breaking the silence, "We wouldn't you tell us who you really were? I mean, I know you wouldn't in the beginning but all this time? Didn't you trust us? Trust...me?"

Trust was hard for Naru. He had always had a difficult time opening up to people, especially since his brother died. He trusted Mai though; he really did trust her. He had gone so long without saying anything that bringing it up never felt necessary. Or like the right time to tell someone that you had fallen in love with that you had been lying to them about your entire identity this entire time. Well, now certainly seemed like a good time to tell her. Who knows if he'll even get another chance.

"I do trust you Mai," he said as if it was obvious.

"Then why hide it?" she asked looking right at him.

"Mainly to avoid the exact situation that we're both in right now," he said. He still didn't look up. He _knew_ she would be angry, upset, and confused. If they lived through this, she would leave him, never want to see him again. He was ready for anything.

"Hehehehe..."

Except for that. Was she giggling? Now he looked up at her to see if it was just his imagination. No, it wasn't. She held her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle it, but she couldn't. When she looked and saw the dumbfounded and confused look on his face she started laughing even harder.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked. That certainly wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Because you're such an idiot! Everything makes so much sense now, but for a scientist you can be such an idiot," she said while laughing.

Naru's eyes were wide open and in shock. 'Idiot...scientist? There's no way she could've known about Gene, let alone know of his favorite insult to me. I guess I really am an idiot,' he thought to himself.

"That still doesn't explain why you're laughing at this," he said with a deviant smile.

Her bloody and bruised face was being off-put by her heart melting smile. "Everything makes so much sense now. Why you never want the press involved, why Madoka wanted you to investigate the man disguised as Oliver Davis, your PK," she said, her smile faltering a little, "It must have been hard to hold everything back though! I mean a man saying he is you, in _front_ of you? I don't think I would've lasted as long as you have under pressure!" she started laughing again.

Naru smiled and began to chuckle. _This_ was Mai. The girl who could smile and laugh even in the worst case scenario. The Mai who had a smile to melt away his feelings of sadness and despair. The Mai he had fallen in love with.

"Hey Naru?"

"Yes?"

"You're smiling."

"Mai, I am fully capable of smiling when I want to," he replied with a smirk.

"Like when you look in a mirror?" she asked.

Naru snickered, "Precisely."

Mai giggled only to then hiss in pain. She reached up to touch her face, and when she pulled back her hand to look at it, she noticed the blood from her gash. It had stopped oozing out, but still hadn't scabbed over. The poke from her hand had caused it to start bleeding again.

"Hey, don't poke at it moron," he said leaning in closer to her. He attempted to reach up and grab her chin, but she flinched away. "I only want to see how bad it is," he said, his face merely inches away from hers, "please?"

With that rare please from him she turned her face the other way. He lifted his right hand and gently held her face in place and steady so he could examine it. Now he really had a good look at the gash. "It isn't too deep, but it does need treatment," he said.

He let go and got up off the bed. He went to the cabinet near the bed and tried to open the handle. It was locked. 'Perfect. Why even put a cabinet in here? What are they trying to hide?' he thought. He walked over to the bathroom. He found a couple of washcloths hanging up on a metal bar. Well, they looked more like cottonized sandpaper, but it would work for what he needed it for. He ran some water over it, wrung it out, and went back to Mai.

"Here," he said sitting back down. "This should help clean the wound.' He raised the washcloth to her face and started dabbing at the wound. She hissed slightly in pain, but then relaxed into it. He noticed her face starting to flush, and he smirked.

"Hey Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"What...what did Alaina say to you in English? Right before she left she said something in English, and you sounded really upset with your reply," Mai asked with uncertainty.

He sighed, "Well you're going to find out eventually. Essentially, she asked me to sign your death warrant."

"What?!" she gasped.

"You remember the last time you saw me use my PK I nearly died in the process," he said waiting for her reaction. She looked down and nodded. "Well that is because I need someone else to help me channel that energy. It's too much for one person, but with two, the effect on the body is minimized."

"You mean, there was someone close to you that you used as a buffer?" she asked.

"Yes. It has to be someone close to me, and someone who has heightened psychic abilities. The...person I worked with was an experienced medium. I used him to channel my abilities. He's gone now," he said hesitantly. The pain of it all still fresh in his mind. It hurt just bringing him up, "She wants me to use you to channel my PK."

"That," Mai said quietly, "That explains why they wanted Lin. And why they kept me alive."

Naru looked up to her, "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, think about it. How long have you known Lin?"

"Nearly my whole life," he replied.

"Well then I'd say that is pretty close to you. You also said they had to have heightened abilities. Alaina kept going on an on about Lin not using his name. She kept saying, "the omnyoji" instead of using his name. Almost as if she only saw him as a tool instead of a person," she explained, "She sounded surprised when you said I could become a great medium. She sees in me the same potential that she saw in Lin."

He found himself smiling once more. It was a rare day indeed, "Well Mai, it seems that you have learned a few investigative qualities from me."

"Oh don't put all the reward on yourself! Admit it you didn't think about-"

Mai was cut off when the door opened and two brown packages and two water bottles were thrown in. The door slammed shut and the tumbler locked them in again. Naru paused before getting up to see what they were. It was something called Meal Ready to Eat. MRE.

"They're military rations," Naru said.

"Rations? Is that our lunch?" Mai asked.

"And possibly dinner, breakfast, and everything in between," Naru said looking at the package. "It's war-fighter approved too. Makes sense if they want me to use you to channel my PK. It takes nearly all of the body's energy to use it."

"How...how _do_ I channel your energy?" she asked.

"You don't," he said flatly.

"What? Why not?"

"Because it'll kill you."

"But you said-"

"I said you have the potential to be a great medium with time and practice. Two weeks isn't hardly enough time to not only prepare your mind on the psychic sense _and_ your body for channeling my PK. I won't kill you with my own power," he said bitterly.

"Even if you refuse to do it, they're just going to kill me anyways!" she all but screamed.

"The only reason I was able to survive using it in the first place was due to my brother!" Naru yelled back frustrated. His eyes widened. He did not mean to mention that. The third time in a month that he would lose control of his thoughts and actions due to this girl.

"Your...brother?"

He sighed and shook his head, "Just forget what I said alright? Let's just eat alright?" hoping that she would drop it.

"Alright," she said.

Naru walked over to her and handed her a package. After putting his down on the bed he went back to get the water bottles.

"Naru? What does this say?" she asked calmly.

"I already told you it's military rations," he said matter-of-factly.

"I know what they are, but what am I eating exactly?" she asked a little quieter.

When he turned around and looked to her, she had her head down looking at the brown, plastic, package, "Mai?"

"I can't read this. It's...It's in English and I can't read this," she said with her voice quavering.

He started to walk back towards her, "Mai, look at me," he said coldly. She looked up at him and his heart clenched when he saw she was crying.

"I-I can't read this. What does it say? I know you understand English, but can you read it for me? I mean, you should be able to read it. You're Oliver Davis, you can read it can't you?" she asked tears falling down her face.

"Mai-" he said his hand reaching out to hers. He put it on top of hers and sat down on the bed.

"Just tell me. What. It. Says," she pleaded trying to breathe through every word.

You didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Mai had hit her breaking point. And all it took to break her spirit and emotional dam was an MRE package that she just couldn't read. The ability to ground herself was gone. She was about to break.

He looked at the brown package in her hands and read the meal name. He chuckled, "Chicken Tortellini Vegetarian. All wrapped up nicely in a bag."

"That sounds disgusting! What about yours?" she asked through sobs.

Naru looked at his and said, "Beef Ravioli in Meat Sauce. That at least sounds kind of appetizing."

The two chuckled, trying to bring some light to the situation. Naru had no idea what was to come, or what all was expected of them. Hell, he didn't even know if they were going to live through this. Trying to channel his PK through someone else was like trying to redirect the power and flow of a lightning bolt through a person's body body without electrocuting them in the process. Where the possibility of death rested in a margin of error smaller than the width of a fingernail. He had already lost his brother; he can't afford to lose Mai too. As he held Mai's hand one goal on his mind resonated, festered and embedded itself into memory: Get her out alive or die trying.

-o-

 **AN: A shout out to those who have reviewed thus far:**

 **Madymo11**

 **Teeniebug**

 **Sammy**

 **Guest (1)**

 **Thank you for reviewing the story! I really appreciate hearing from you all. And thanks to all who have favorited and followed both myself and the story. I update every week and that's the schedule I will be sticking to.**

 **Catch you all next week.**


	4. End of All Hope

**Chapter 3: End of All Hope**

 **End of All Hope – Nightwish (just the entire Century Child album is amazing fyi, but this song best represents the chapter ahead)**

 **AN: See the end of the chapter for more notes.**

 **-o-**

 **Day 1: 12:37**

 **Lin**

White. Lin saw white overclouding his vision. Pain and red as the blood oozed out of his body and onto the office floor. His shiki's hovered over him the moment he was shot. They are bound to obey his orders and to protect him at all costs. He could hear his shiki's whispering to him as he slowly drifted in and out of consciousness.

" _Master is injured..._ "

" _What are your orders master?_ "

Lin was choking on blood at this point. Even if he could stay awake long enough to get an order out, he probably would only get incoherent gurgling out of his mouth. He attempted to put pressure onto the wound from his hands and lean to the injured side. He blacked out once more. Almost like a very long blink. The room spun around him as he heard the whispering again.

" _Someone is coming master..._ "

" _What do you wish of us master?_ "

More blood was coughed out of his mouth and he ended up on his back. He heard the noise of footsteps and orders from a voice that sounded miles away.

"Oh god...I need backup at...this is...-ackup and an...-bulance at...sir...sir!Can you hear me...sir!"

Lin opened his eyes again and saw his shiki's hovering over the head of a police officer leaning over him. "One...stay...one...return..." he was able to get out finally. If one stayed they could tell the others everything that happened. In a swirl of white light, his shiki's separated and disappeared. One of them returning to his body, and the other one disappearing into the air.

"Sir don't try to talk much," the police officer said, "Can you tell me who did this? Your call mentioned a group of men?"

Lin nodded, "They were here... for Noll"

"The office is empty. Sir was there anyone else here?" he said.

Lin's eyes shot open. They got Noll, but they took Mai too? "A girl...is she not here?" he breathed out raggedly. His head felt heavy, but he had to know. He had to find them.

"No there isn't. Who is missing?"

"Kazuya Shibuya...and Mai Tani...yama"

"We'll find them sir."

Lin reached for the phone in his pocket and pulled it out. He unlocked it and handed it to the police officer, "Call them," he coughed, more blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

"Call who?" the policeman asked.

"Our team," he replied. His eyes started to roll back into his head and the world felt hot, heavy, and dark. He didn't keep a lot of contacts in his personal phone, but the did keep the names and numbers of their team members in it. Any one of those numbers would, by word of mouth, would be able to get the entire team together. While he would be out for the count, they needed to take his place. They knew the equipment better than the local police and would be able to start the hunt much faster. Every second counted.

The world was feeling further and further away from him. Darkness completely shrouded his vision and this time he couldn't wake himself up. Time was against them all now. He hoped they could catch up.

-o-

 **12:48**

 **Takigawa**

Takigawa's head hurt a lot. One bad old woman joke and Ayako decided that his head would look so much better with a large welt on top of it!

"Come on! How was it that bad?!" he protested.

"Do you want to hear another reason?" she asked rearing back her arm for another punch.

"No no! I'm good!" he said shaking his hands in front of himself.

He had decided on a spur of the moment get together with Ayako. She had been taking on extra shifts at the hospital while Naru recovered from their last case and until he chose another one. Ayako, to make up for this, had started working a bare minimum of 60 hours a week at the hospital. This was her one, very rare, days off; so Takigawa decided to treat her to lunch.

It was at that very moment as they were walking from the restaurant they were eating at to his car that his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was Lin. He answered it immediately.

"Hey Lin! Naru-bou finally choose a case for us?" he asked.

"Naru-bou?" an unknown voice asked him, "I'm sorry, is this Houshou Takigawa?"

"Yes, who is this and why do you have Lin's phone?" he asked stopping in his tracks. His voice went serious and Ayako stopped in front of him.

"Sir, this is detective Yojiro; I'm with the local police. Do you work for Shibuya Psychic Research?"

"Yes I do, what is going on?" he asked. He was starting to get really worried. Ayako looked annoyed not knowing what was going on.

"Sir we are at the SPR office right now. Lin Koujo has been shot and taken to the local hospital. It also seems that Kazuya Shibuya and his assistant have been taken by some unknown assailants. We would like you to come down to the office to answer some questions. Lin said you have a team that can help?" the detective explained.

The blood in Takigawa's face drained out. He could feel his hand trembling as he gripped his phone next to his ear. 'Taken? Mai and Naru taken? Lin's been shot?! What the hell is going on?!' he thought.

"Hello? Sir? Are you still there?"

"Yes! Yes I'm still here. Yes we are all part of a team. We have myself and four others that work with the other three. We are about 20 minutes away by car. We can be over there shortly. I can contact the others on the way to the office.

"Thank you sir," the detective said hanging up after that. Takigawa looked at Ayako.

"We need to get to the office. Now," he said moving quickly to his car.

"Do you want to explain what is going on? What is happening?" Ayako asked sounding really irritated at this point.

"Lin's been shot, and Naru and Mai have been kidnapped," he said going into a job. He reached his car and fumbled in his pocket for his keys, "Call Yasu and the others. Tell them to drop whatever they are doing and meet us at the office," he said hopping into the car and firing it up. 'Damn it you guys. What the hell is going on?' he thought angrily.

-o-

The duo made their way to the office in about 10 minutes. Takigawa had broken about maybe eight different traffic laws, but they were going towards the police infested office. They could send him the bill. On the drive, Ayako called John who said she would pick up Masako and Yasu before coming to the office. When they got about two blocks away from the office, they were stopped by the sheer amount of police cars, vans, CSI, all crowding around the office blocking the street. A police officer guiding traffic walked up to the car, so he rolled down his window.

"I'm sorry about the abrupt in traffic sir, we are redirecting all traffic to-" he said as if he had said this a lot today.

"We work in the office that the man was shot in sir. We were asked to come in by a Detective Yojiro?" he said.

"One second," he said and then stepped back to say something into a hand radio. After a few seconds of anticipation the officer came up to his window, "Alright we're going to let you through. Park near the side entrance and make your way up to the office."

"Thank you," Takigawa said and was ushered through the police line.

They practically ran into the building, up the stairs and into the office. CSI and policemen were going in and out of the office so much it looked like a scene from a crime drama. The two paused a moment at the door just taking everything in. This was real. This was actually happening. This wasn't some trick. The smell of blood wafting into the hallway confirmed the scene they were watching.

"Ah! Are you Houshou Takigawa?" a voice interrupted their thoughts.

He looked and saw a man in a suit walking towards them. He was an old man with salt and peppered hair. It was long, possibly shoulder length, and slicked back with grease. His face was drooped and showed wrinkles of time, stress, and a severe lack of sleep.

"Yes I am, and this is Ayako Matsuzaki. The other three members of our team are on their way," he answered to the man, "Are you the detective I spoke to on the phone?"

"I am. Would you two come with me please? I'd like to talk with you two in private," he said turning around and making his way over to Lin's office.

As they followed him to the office, Takigawa could briefly see the pool of blood near the couches on the floor and a CSI taking pictures. The office was trashed, things turned over, vases broken, the smell of burnt...something mixed with blood was surrounding the air of the office. He looked back towards the front door. There was no damage to it. 'Whoever came in and did this didn't forcibly come in. Why shoot Lin and take Naru and Mai though? Were they people they knew? This isn't right...' he thought.

Going in to Lin's office they found a work desk, cabinets, and on the desk three computer monitors and a younger looking policewoman in the chair behind it. This room seemed to be in pristine condition.

"Any luck on surveillance?" Detective Yojiro asked.

"None sir. This tech is beyond anything that I have seen or used. I can't get my way past his encryption," she said.

"Another reason I asked you here is this," he said looking at the two. "We know the office has surveillance cameras, but we can't get past Mr. Lin's encryption to get to it. We were hoping since you worked with him that you might be able to unlock it so we can see who we're dealing with."

"Well, I know we can't ourselves, but Yasu might be able to do it. He's pretty smart when it comes to that tech stuff," Ayako said.

"Who's Yasu?" Detective Yojiro asked.

"He's a member of our team. He's our backup tech expert and researcher," Takigawa explained, "He's on his way with the other two members of the team."

"Is Lin OK by the way?" Ayako asked very concerned.

"He was taken to the General hospital downtown. We don't know of his current condition," he replied, "Do you two know of anyone who might've wanted to do this?"

"Well Naru certainly isn't the nicest person in the world, but not to the point of kidnapping. I mean we help people. I don't think he had many enemies, if any at all," Ayako explained.

"What about Koujo Lin? Does he have any enemies? People he might've made angry?"

"Well to be honest with you, we don't know much about Lin's past. But if they wanted to hurt him, wouldn't they just kill Naru and Mai? I mean why take them?" Takigawa answered.

The detective took note of his answer. "What about Mai Taniyama?"

"Oh _god_ no!" Ayako exclaimed, "She is one of the nicest girls you could have ever met!"

Detective Yojiro sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Is there _any_ reason someone might want to kidnap the two and shoot Lin? Anything they own, people they know? Anything about them that someone might want?" he asked sounding frustrated.

Ayako and Takigawa looked at each other, "I mean, we all work in Psychic Research. The only thing connecting them at this point is their psychic abilities," Takigawa explained, "Mai doesn't have much, and it almost killed Naru last time he used it. There's no reason for this to be happening!"

"Yes there is," a familiar voice said at the doorway. They turned to find Masako, John and Yasu standing in the doorway. Masako who had said this stepped in to the office.

"Masako!" Ayako sighed with relief.

"The T.V. Medium? You work with Masako Hara?" Detective Yojiro asked.

"Yes, we all do," John said.

"So what's the connection?" Takigawa asked, "Naru and Mai don't have _that_ much to offer."

"Well Mai certainly doesn't. Not yet anyways. Kazuya Shibuya however...he has a lot to offer. I promised I wouldn't dare reveal who he really is, but given the situation, I can't keep this a secret for long. Kazuya Shibuya is only one of his names. His real name is Oliver Davis."

 **-o-**

 **AN: Hey thanks so much for bearing with me for this chapter. I am sorry I had to wait till Saturday to get this up, but it's been a long week. I had drill over the last weekend, was dead tired on Monday, and had my alternator die. To save $800 I'm replacing it myself.**

 **Thanks to those new reviewers!**

 **WhereDidSweetieGo**

 **fabian1nina1**

 **westerngoddess**

 **Guest (thank you for reviewing as a guest!)**

 **Also thanks to anyone who has followed/favorited myself and/or my story. You guys are awesome. I'll see you guys next week!**


	5. Pieces

**Chapter 5: Pieces**

 **Song: Nightcore – Pieces by Nightcorereality**

 **AN: See the end of the chapter for more notes. Thanks for reading!**

 **-o-**

 **Day 1: 13:30**

 **The Team**

Masako had explained everything, but none of it made any sense. For a year, Naru had been lying to him, lying to his friends, lying about being Takigawa's long time idol? This is insane. If they didn't know then how did whoever kidnapped them know? This was getting out of hand.

"That explains motive, but where do we go from here? I mean we have to find them, but where do we start?" asked John.

"Which one of you is Yasu?" asked the detective.

"I am," Yasu replied, "What can I do to help?"

"Your coworkers said you could help get the surveillance off of Lin's computer. Our officer here can't get into it."

"Uh sure, not a problem," Yasu said a little flustered. He took the place of the officer and began to get to work.

Everyone waited with baited breath as Yasu worked. Typing. Pause. Eye's flickering over numbers and code. Type. Enter. Wait. Read. Type. It was like a technological dance for dominance happening faster than any of them could process in their heads.

"This is going to take me a little bit of time," he said suddenly.

"Can you get it though?" Detective Yojiro asked.

"Oh of course. It's good tech, lots of encryption, but I can get it in about...20 minutes?" he said guestimating the time to completion.

"Way to go Yasu!" Takigawa said, giving him a rough pat on the back.

Yasu paused to fix his glasses, smiled and kept typing. They left Lin's office and into the main area. Masako stepped into the area and paused. Her calm facade began to fall. Takigawa stepped up next to her.

"Hey Masako are you ok?" he asked.

"There is a presence here..." she whispered to him.

"Like what a ghost or something? It isn't Lin's is it?!" he asked feeling as bit panicked at the thought.

"No it isn't Lin," she replied. By now the group had stopped to look at her. She looked up and towards the direction of the pool of blood, "There is a familiar presence here. It is emitting Lin's energy, but it isn't him."

"Like a spirit?" Ayako asked.

"You aren't seriously trying to do that whole medium crap now are you?" Detective Yojiro asked, "You may be able to fool a bunch of people on T.V. with your special effects and makeup, but this is real life sweetie."

Masako glared at him, "I am not trying to fool anyone. I am simply telling you that there is a spiritual presence here. Whether or not you want to believe me is up to you."

The detective sighed and put a hand up to his temple in annoyance, "Listen all I want to do is find the two kids alright? It hasn't been long since the abductions, so if we can work fast we might be able to find them in under a day if we are lucky."

"If we are lucky?" Takigawa asked confused.

"Yeah," John spoke up, "I remember watching a news special on abductions before. They said that usually vital clues can be found in the first few hours of a person going missing. Usually they are found within 72 hours after the report goes out. If we can get clues about who might've taken them, it shouldn't take long for us to find them."

"Exactly," Detective Yojiro affirmed, "Which is why we don't have time for your psychic medium spiel alright?"

"You say that like I'm trying to pitch a sales deal," Masako said angrily this time, "I can assure you that my powers are very real and not just for views and ratings."

"It's true, Masako has helped us quite a bit on our cases with her spirit sense. If she says there is a spiritual presence here, I believe her," John said. Masako blushed.

"At this point in time, the best source of evidence we have to test your theory is the surveillance footage. We'll see if it catches any ghosts or "spirits" he said with air quotes.

The group was more annoyed now than ever. To have this happen to Mai, Naru and Lin and then have your credibility challenged like they were kids was more stress than they had seen on all of their cases combined. They were starting to feel like outsiders in their own work office.

"Masako do you really think that there is a spirit here?" Takigawa asked her.

She turned to him. "Yes, most definitely." she said a little more defiantly than usual, "Now that I focus on its energy more, I am almost certain it's one of Lin's shiki's."

"That's great! It means it might be able to tell us what happened and you can prove that stupid detective wrong," Ayako said with a grin.

"Not necessarily," Masako replied, "Shiki's aen't the most friendly and public of spirits. More than likely it hasn't shown itself to us because of all of the unknown people in here. We'll have to wait until they've all left."

"Well I am not just going to sit around and wait for that to happen. Maybe there is something here in the office to help us out while Yasu gets the surveillance footage," Takigawa said.

"Maybe notes? Case files?" John inquired.

"Exactly," he replied. "There is no way Naru could have just stayed in the office with only Mai and lin to talk to. Maybe he was trying to find us a case. Let's see if there is anyone he's talked to."

"In thew meantime, we need to make sure that Naru's face stays out of the press," Masako said.

"Why?" Takigawa asked, "Wouldn't that help us find him and Mai faster?"

"I only told you guys about his true identity because the situation is dire and in need of it. If the world sees his face next to the name Oliver Davis, we could be in even bigger trouble. It is crucial that his face stays out of the media"

They all thought about this. His behavior towards the media has never been hidden. He tried his hardest to keep himself out of the media, and this situation was probably the one thing he was trying to avoid. This was going to be tough, but as Takigawa looked at the faces of his team and trusted friends in front of him, he realized they were looking to him for guidance. He was going to have to lead them whether he wanted to or not.

"Alright. Masako? I want you to be the one to talk to the media. You are better in front of the camera than any of us. Ayako, I want you to go to the hospital to check on Lin. Wait there until he wakes up and call us if anything changes. John, you and I are going to stay here and go through the office. See if we can't find any clues to who might've taken them and where they could be. We have less than 72 hours to track them down before things get tough. Let's meet back here when the police and forensics have left. See if we can make Lin's shiki a little less shy," he said taking charge, "Everybody got it?"

Everyone nodded.

"Let's bring our little Mai-chan and Naru-bou home."

 **-o-**

 **Day 1 1/2: 1600**

 **Mai**

They ate their MRE's in near silence after what had happened between them. They paused every now and then to ask what was all in their meals, trade a couple things if they didn't want it, but mostly they just ate. The atmosphere felt very heavy to Mai. In the last four hours, things between them were laid bare and emotions and the stakes were high. One wrong move and they would die without hesitation. Mai felt numb. Her body was numb; emotionally and physically drained. She had to be strong though. For both herself and Naru's sake she had to pull herself together.

'At least Naru is here with me,' she thought.

Naru, Oliver Davis, renowned scientist and investigator. She would have never thought in a million years he was living under an alias. He was acting so out of the ordinary. His calm and collected facade was slipping, she could see that. Being outed as his true identity, being forced to use his PK against his will, for what purpose it was still truly unknown.

'Naru...' she thought, 'I can only imagine what he must be feeling. He got really upset and angry with himself when he made a mistake on the first case I met him on. He must feel crushed with the guilt and anger he must be feeling now.'

She had to convince him to let him channel his PK through her. Her life would depend on it regardless of what he wanted. If he refused, she would be killed by these people. If he accepted, the risk of dying is still there, but perhaps the probability of death could be cut down. Certain death or good chance of death? Mai knew her answer, she would just have to convince Naru to accept that answer.

She thought back to the way that he held her when they were being threatened, how he had nearly lost control again. She blushed thinking back to how tight he held her. How defiant and angry he was when challenged with the idea of potentially killing her. The way he cleaned her face, the way he helped her when she was having a breakdown. This was really unlike him. He was becoming more emotional and more upfront with himself.

'Maybe because the lie he built himself on is crumbling down right in front of him?' a voice in her head thought bitterly.

She also tried to think about one of the last things he said to her. His brother? He survived using his brother? He never mentioned a brother. Not like he would openly mention family, but it was still confusing. She couldn't just ask outright about him. He told her to forget he said anything anyways. Mai wouldn't forget it though; as a matter of fact, the word 'brother' kept encircling her thoughts. Like an itch she just couldn't scratch she kept thinking about it.

'He wouldn't mention a brother before, he is acting less and less like himself. He's starting to become more like dream Naru. Wait! Dream Naru...no...no way...it couldn't be...his brother?' she thought quickly going from one thought to another.

It made sense in her head, if his brother was dead, it would explain why dream Naru acted so differently, but it was too far fetched right? This was just an assumption she was having and nothing more. But still, it was starting to make sense. She couldn't ask Naru about it but-

"You're going to give yourself a headache thinking like that," Naru's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Oh sorry I was trying have a productive thought," she said sarcastically. She paused looking at him. "Hey Naru?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking," she started to say.

"I could see that."

Her face fell into one of annoyance, "I'm being serious here!"

He smirked and she started to blush again, "Ok fine. What were you thinking?" he asked.

"I 'm going to try and sleep and dream. Maybe I can find us some answers on this place and these people in the astral plane," she said confidently.

Naru blinked. His face went from amusement, to surprise, and then back to amusement before she had time to register the change. "It seems you're intelligence is finally growing. I do seem to have that effect on people of lesser intellect," he chided.

Mai stuck her tongue out at him, "Hey it is a good idea and you know it!" she replied.

She put the remaining parts of her MRE on the floor next to the bed. She looked at the bed and frowned. It was a large bed, and the only one in the room. She blushed a deep shade of red when she realized this. 'We're going to have to share this bed. Oh my god...' Shaking her head, she threw herself into the pillows, got comfortable, and within minutes she was out cold.

 **-o-**

When Mai opened her eyes again, she felt light. Her face no longer hurt so that was a plus to this. Looking around she saw black. The silhouettes of people and the layout of the building she was in was very evident though. Looking directly below her she was able to see her body sleeping on the bed. Naru was looking over her. She smiled at that.

"Mai," a familiar voice sounded out behind her.

"Na-" she started to say happily and then she was reminded why she was here. She decided to test her theory outright. "You're not actually Naru are you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows in surprise, as if he wasn't sure what to say. He then smiled at her, "No I'm not," he said.

"You're his brother aren't you?" she asked feeling proud that she was finally right about something like this.

"Yes. My name is Eugene Davis. Or, Gene for short. I'm assuming Noll didn't tell you this part did he?" he replied.

"No he didn't. He let slip that he had a brother and with everything else that is happening I was able to put two and two together. I thought it was just a theory, a really far fetched theory, but...I guess I was right," she said sadly realizing the implication of this. This means Naru had a twin brother and his twin was dead.

"Mai, you and Noll are in grave danger," Gene said walking closer to her.

"Thanks captain obvious," she said sarcastically with a hint of fear and bitterness to it.

In all honesty she was afraid. She was calm and strong around the people that she knew and that were strong. But underneath it all she was shaking. She dealt with ghosts, wandering spirits, demons rarely. Not human freakin trafficking!

"They want Naru to channel his PK through me. He doesn't want to; he said I'd die. He also said that he channeled it through you?"

"That's true, he did," Gene answered

"Tell me how you did it!" she exclaimed, "I don't care about the risks, I want to do it. Naru is being stubborn and won't agree to it, but if he doesn't I'll die anyways!" She felt like she was on the verge of tears again. She was willing to throw her life away for Naru. She really did love him with all of her heart.

Gene smiled sadly and then spoke, "Mai, your psychic powers are still too young for that level of power. It would kill you before you had the chance to think that anything was wrong."

She looked down through the astral plane and looked at Naru who was beginning to tuck her into the bed with the covers. She saw as when he did he used his hand to brush her hair out of her face and behind her ear. He sat there stroking her head and hair. He looked so dejected. He whispered something to her in her ear. She faintly heard bits and pieces of it in the astral plane, "I...you...ai...hopefu...you...appy...you...are..." She got goosebumps.

"Please Gene. If not for my sake, then for your brother's. For Oliver's. Once they kill me, what do you think they'll do to him? I don't want to know, and neither do you," she pleaded seriously.

It struck a nerve with Gene. He cringed and looked away; pausing for a couple of moments as if considering her idea. Then with a heavy sigh he looked back up at Mai, smiled and said, "Ok, I'll tell you."

"Thank you Gene," she replied.

"You can thank me when you two get out of this place alive," he said, "PK was originally thought to be nothing more than an idea. A little fantasy that someone created thinking it would be a cool concept. It is like every molecule inside your body is no longer doing what it does by instinct. The user is taking direct command over them and uses them to their bend and will. It also taps into the user's spirit and gives it the energy needed to move objects. Using PK takes tremendous power and that's why someone can't ever do it alone. They would be expelling nearly all of the energy in their body; essentially becoming a shell once finished."

Mai let all of this sink in. The guilt she felt about the incident with the demon in the cave now making her feel more at fault for pushing him into doing it. "Ok, so where does being a medium fall into place here? Naru said that a medium with heightened abilities have the power to channel his energy," she asked.

Gene went on, "Essentially when Naru uses his PK he is expending the power in his body and spirit to do what he needs it to do. He runs the risk every time he uses it of dying and losing his spirit. A medium's job is not only a buffer for the physical energy expended but as a guide in the astral plane the make sure his spirit and his body connection doesn't become severed. That's why it needs to be a very skilled medium. Someone who can ensure a spirit remains intact with the person you are touching. That person being a human lightning rod with all of the power of a bolt coming down from the sky."

"Oh...Ok..." Mai whispered, "Simple right?"

Gene started chuckling. "Exactly!" he said throwing his arms out to the side. He looked serious again, "Mai, I need you to tell Noll about me. Tell him I'm your spirit guide. Tell him to trust your powers. Tell him I trust your powers."

"How will he believe me?"

"Tell him..." he thought for a moment, "Tell him about the time when we were kids. When I was helping him with his PK. We were outside playing with the rocks in the garden. I tried to drag his spirit back down to his body, but in being so new at it, I spiritually and physically tackled him to the ground. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him, 'Madoka said to keep you grounded!'" Mai busted out laughing at the pun. This went on for a few minutes.

Gene looked around and down. Mai did the same and noticed that a group of men in two rooms beyond them were moving quickly. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but it looked as though they were shouting at each other. Things getting packed into boxes, a door being opened, and a dozen men moving in and out.

"What are they doing?" she asked.

"It looks like they are packing up to move out. They want to keep moving you two from place to place to avoid leaving a trail. That's how these people work," he explained, "It's time for you to leave,"

"Wait, is there anything you can tell me about them? I can't go back to Naru empty handed about them."

"I don't know much about the followers except for the fact that they hurt you;that woman though, Alaina? She's an arms dealer. If she gets her way and you two are able to control his PK, then she essentially has a human bomb that could get past anyone and any detection. You two have to find a way to escape."

"We will try to. And Gene?" she started to feel light and fluttery again, "Thank you."

He smiled at her and then faded to white.

 **-o-**

 **AN: Goodness I am so sorry about having to miss a week of updating! I hope this chapter makes up for that missed week. If you want the full story as to what happened, you can check my profile.**

 **TL;DR: Drill weekend + car broke. Tried to fix car, car was fixed, then it broke. We have a new car now. Selling the old car for scrap.**

 **Thanks to those who have favorited and followed both myself and the story. Reviews are loved and appreciated! See you guys next week.**


	6. Still Here

**Chapter 6 – Still Here**

 **Song – Still Here: Digital Daggers**

 **AN: See bottom of chapter for more notes; see profile for more in depth personal stuff either about the chapter or about my life in general. Thanks for reading and enjoy!**

 **-o-**

 **End of Day 1: 19:30**

 **The Team**

Honestly everyone thought the forensic scientists would never leave. Takigawa, Masako, and John were allowed to stay in the office so long as it was with the purpose of helping gather evidence related to the case and to help Yasu. He was thankfully able to get into Lin's computer within 45 minutes of him sitting down to work.

Honestly it was hard for them to watch the footage of what had happened. Takigawa especially found it hard not to pick up something and throw it out of rage when he saw Mai getting sexually assaulted. They were truly outnumbered five to three. Instantly the footage started to become corrupted and hazy when Lin raised his fingers to his mouth and looked to do what looked like a whistle to summon his shiki's. Masako grinned when she saw this as it proved her theory that it _was_ his shiki that she sensed.

After that it was choppy and cut in and out in a thick haze. They were able to see one moment Naru was protecting Mai and the next he was down and being hauled out by two men. Lin was shot and it went very fuzzy. Mai was in the main room, and then after the picture came back she was in the kitchen with a man following her. It faded out and showed the man on the ground the next moment and a pot from the stove missing. Mai had thrown the contents of it into the man's face.

"So this Mai Taniyama certainly can defend herself," Detective Yojiro commented.

"She's learned from us self defense techniques," Takigawa explained.

Another man cam to intercept her fleeing and beat her down. She fell unconscious and was dragged away. Masko put her hand to her sleeve and looked away. "My God," John whispered bowing his head and hand signing a Catholic cross across his body. "Mai...Naru...Lin..." Yasu could only whisper. Takigawa couldn't take any more of it and walked out of the room. He was fuming with rage at this point. He knew that he had to keep calm and think clearly, but watching someone who was basically like a little sister to him get assaulted, beaten, and kidnapped by whoever the hell they were was just too much.

'Come on, think! What would Lin and Naru do? They'd be calm first of all. Worried, but calm,' he thought.

He took a few deep meditative breaths and cleared his mind. He wouldn't be a monk exorcist if he couldn't have the ability to shut the world out and focus his mind on one thing. He was leading now, he needed to be strong willed and cool headed.

The rest of the day was filled with questions from the detective on the footage, rummaging through the folder and paperwork for any clues, and dealing with the press on what they can and can't say about what happened. Mai's picture was released from a group photo they had taken a few months back. Naru's identity was limited to Kazuya Shibuya with no picture available, but should be with Mai.

Ayako also gave a couple updates from the hospital. She said when she got there Lin was still in surgery. A few hours later Lin was out of surgery and should make a full recovery. They had to perform a blood transfusion due to blood loss, but otherwise he should be fine. She was sent a couple of screenshots from the footage and she didn't know any of the men that were shown. She said that she would stay in the room Lin was in until the forensic analysts were gone and she could come back to the office.

As they poured over the recent records of appointments, Takigawa found it surprising that in the past month, Naru had been trying to find a client. He had interviewed somewhere between 5-7 clients in a month, pouring over case files but denying all of them. It was strange even for Naru to have so many rejections. He wondered what could have been going through his head.

Now they were outside of the office door waiting on Ayako to come back from the hospital so they could sneak back into the office and summon Lin's shiki out and ask it for information. After they found all of the evidence they could find, they were told to not contaminate the crime scene any longer and were told to leave. They "left" the office but never left the vicinity. It was now nearly 20:00 when they were sure everything was clear for them to return.

The elevator dinged and Ayako stepped out and walked towards them, "I'm here, you guys ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," Takigawa replied. "Let's do this."

Walking back into the office, stepping past the police tape, the silence was almost deafening. The air was still and heavy. The usual friendly, familiar, and professional setting was off-put by the smell of dried blood and burnt soup. Everything from the crime scene remained right where it was broken, thrown about, and scattered. It looked nothing like it was before.

Trying his best to ignore this uncomfortable silence, Takigawa spoke up, "Masako, can you sense Lin's shiki here?"

She jumped slightly. She looked around a little, put her hand up to her mouth and said, "Yes, it's still here."

"Good let's get to work."

 **-o-**

 **Day1: 19:48**

 **Naru**

 **-o-**

Naru considered waking Mai up once he started hearing shouting coming from outside the door, but he knew better. Waking someone up while they are astral projecting could run the risk of their soul not returning to their body properly or at all. He did what he thought would be most helpful, keep an eye on her movements, and listen at the door for clues as to what they were doing out there.

A few sounds were very evident to discern: heavy furniture being moved, scuffling of feet, and a man barking orders in an authoritative voice. What the man was saying he couldn't quite make out. It sounded as though that was what he was doing.

'Are we being moved somewhere?' he thought, 'What's going on out there?'

"Mmhmm...Naru?" Mai's voice whispered from behind him.

"Mai," he said coming over to her side, "it's about time you woke up. Something's happening out there,"

"I know. I saw them. They are getting ready to move us," she replied groggily.

"Move us? Move us where?"

"I'm not sure, but Naru there is something important I need to tell you. It's about your brother Gene," she said quickly.

Naru's body went cold and rigid. All of the blood drained from his face and his self control was being held together by a single thread. 'What in the hell is happening to us?' he thought. "How do you know his name?" he finally asked.

"He told me his name," she said. The confusion on his face growing more and more confused and slightly angry, "Naru, he's my spirit guide!" she blurted out, "He's been guiding me in the astral plane,"

Naru for once didn't have a retort. He was fuming with rage for bringing him up. He was angry, upset, sad, and...jealous? No. That couldn't be it. What in the hell was happening? He tried to speak and ask her what she meant by this all that came out was a breathless, "What? Why?"

"It's a long story, but listen Naru. He said that you need to use me. We don't have time to argue on this. I know you're afraid to, but if you don't I'm dead regardless. He said he'll teach me alongside you. Please Naru!" she pleaded.

"No...no he's...how do I know you aren't just..."

"It's not a mistake Naru, it _is_ him. Remember when you two were kids practicing PK for the first time? He dragged your spirit back into your body and he tackled you to the ground? Do you remember what he said?" when he didn't answer she continued, "He wanted to keep you grounded. Naru he is the only other person who could have told me that story other than you. Do you believe me now?" she asked.

He opened his mouth but quickly shut it again as if the words were going to fly out before he had time to think. 'There is no way, no _way_ that this is happening right now!' he thought.

He could feel his heart pound harder and harder in his chest, his head starting to feel light, and his breathing going ragged. He felt betrayed by the two people who were the closest to him. A deep cold feeling erupted in his body and settled into the pit of his stomach. He was going to pass out.

'Am I having a panic attack?' he thought, 'No, no, no, this isn't happening. I haven't had one since...'

Naru didn't have an opportunity to answer that question and train of thought. At that moment the loud sound of the heavy metal door being unlocked from the outside caused both of them to jump. They looked to the door and didn't have time to react when a number of men came barreling into the room. Three men were on top of him before he could reach for Mai. Two grabbed his wrists and a third wrapped heavy cloth around his mouth. He tried fighting them off but was completely overwhelmed by their force.

He looked towards Mai and saw another few men doing the same. She was flailing and screaming. She was trying to use her body to go limp, but she was so lightweight, the men holding her were able to pick her up easily. She was screaming so loudly now, the sound vibrated off the walls. One of them tried to cover her moth with his hand; she then took into her mouth and bit down hard.

"Graaagh!" the man howled in pain jerking his hand back.

Naru's head was feeling lighter and lighter as adrenaline filled him. "Mai!" he tried calling out, but it was muffled heavily. A burlap bag was then thrown over his head and he was dragged away from the room and away from Mai. Her screams for them to stop and the screaming of his nickname growing distant as he was blindly dragged away through the building.

He felt a cool breeze as he was led outside. A car door opened and he was thrown in to the side. His knees bent backwards and he felt himself falling forward onto his face. His face hit the floor and he felt his nose flare with pain. Blood seeped down into the sack. He was in a van he deduced as there were no seats that he landed on. The door slammed shut and the engine turned over.

"Go!" a gruff voice sounded off, and off they went without hesitation.

The last thing he had on his mind when his mind started to black out was the fact that he was away from Mai, and he didn't know what they would do to her. He felt tears of anguish and pain mix in with the blood flowing down his face. Instinctively he reached down into his pocket and he felt a damp cloth.

'What is this?' he asked himself, 'Wait...this is...Mai!'

It was the cloth he used to clean Mai's face. There was still her blood and tears on it. It didn't belong to her, but it had remnants of her on it. It just might work. He gripped it tight in his hand and closed his eyes. He focused his thoughts solely on Mai, and he allowed darkness to overtake him.

 **-o-**

Opening his eyes, he saw that he was back in the room that he had left Mai in. So she was still in the room where he had left her? His clairvoyant powers allowed him to see things in flashes. The further he was away from the person he was trying to see, the harder it was to see. It was blurry but he could see Mai among five men. She was struggling that was easy enough to see. They were trying to subdue her but she was fighting. Naru honestly had no idea she had that much strength in her. It became blurry and hard to see. He focused harder on Mai and the cloth that held a part of her. The vision focused in again. A man with a cloth came up to her and tried to hold it to her face, but a swift kick to the ribs fixed that. He dropped what he was holding.

The vision started blurring again, and when it came into focus again Mai was on the ground, her hair being pulled up And two men on top of her holding her down. Naru felt his blood begin to boil. He was seething with rage at this point. He hardly put up a fight, and here Mai was fighting with every amount of energy she could muster? He was going to be sick. All he could do was watch helplessly. He walked up to her and reached out his hand. It did nothing to help her.

It blurred again. When it focused, Mai was unconscious with tear tracks wet on her face. She was being picked up roughly and thrown onto a tall man's shoulder. A bag was placed over her head, pulled tight, and she was moved out of the room. The vision began to fade entirely.

 **-o-**

Naru opened his eyes with a jolt of panic. He still couldn't see anything and he could still feel the floor of the van beneath him. They were still on their way to the next location. He wondered if anyone would be able to find them at this rate, but he quickly pushed that thought from his head.

'Is it helpful to think like that? Focus on the solution, not the problem,' he thought, 'What's the best course of action here?'

The answer was obvious: use Mai to help channel his PK, but he refused to acknowledge that decision. No, there had to be another option. But then again...she knew about keeping his spirit in his body, she knew about the story when he and his brother were kids.

'Is this what Gene would want?' he thought. 'Would he forgive him if she got hurt or killed? Could I forgive myself? No. But, I don't have any other options.'

He felt more tears start to roll down his face. Tears he swears never fell in the first place. He smiled and made a decision: he would channel his PK through Mai, for both of their lives.

 **-o-**

 **AN: I. Am. So. Sorry. I'm so sorry it has taken this long to update! So much life hit in this last month. Drill weekend in 3 week intervals, car issues only to be fixed by buying a new damn car, and much more personal issues that involved legal paperwork to make your head spin.**

 **Shout out to all of the awesome reviewers!**

 **Star0Dragon0Slayer**

 **CaitHawke4Ever**

 **fabian1nina1**

 **blue hummming bird**

 **And all of the guest reviewers too!**

 **See you all soon**


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